Beginning
Chapter 31
Allegory of the Cedar. 1 On the first day of the third month in the eleventh year,[a] the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his hordes: In your greatness, whom do you resemble?
3 Assyria! It is Assyria![b]
A cedar of Lebanon—
Beautiful branches,
thick shade,
Towering heights,
its crown in the clouds!(A)
4 The waters made it grow,
the deep made it tall,
Letting its currents flow
around the place it was planted,
Then sending its channels
to all the other trees of the field.(B)
5 Thereupon it towered in height
above all the trees in the field;
Its branches were numerous
and its boughs long,
Because of the many waters
sent to its shoots.
6 In its branches nested
all the birds of the sky;
Under its boughs all the wild animals
gave birth,
And in its shade[c] dwelt
all the mighty nations.(C)
7 It was magnificent in size
and in the length of its branches,
For its roots reached down
to the many waters.
8 In the garden of God,
no cedars could rival it,
No juniper could equal its branches,
no plane tree match its boughs.
No tree in the garden of God
could match its beauty.(D)
9 I made it beautiful
with abundant foliage,
So that all the trees in Eden
were envious of it.[d]
10 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Because it was arrogant about its height,
lifting its crown among the clouds
and exalting itself because of its size,(E)
11 I handed it over to a ruler of nations
to deal with it according to its evil.
I have cast it off,
12 and foreigners have cut it down,
The most ruthless nations,
have hurled it on the mountains.
Its boughs fell into every valley
and its branches lay broken
in every ravine in the land.
All the peoples of the earth
departed from its shade
when it was hurled down.(F)
13 On its fallen trunk
sit all the birds of the sky;
Beside its fallen branches,
are found all the beasts of the field.
14 This has happened so no well-watered tree
will gain such lofty height,
or lift its crown to the clouds.
Not one of those fed by water
will tower in height over the rest.
For all of them are destined for death,
for the underworld, among mere mortals,
with those who go down to the pit.
15 Thus says the Lord God:
On the day it went down to Sheol,
I made the deep close up
in mourning for it.
I restrained the currents of the deep,
and held back the many waters.
I darkened Lebanon because of it,
and all the trees of the field
languished because of it.
16 At the sound of its fall,
I made nations shudder,
When I cast it down to Sheol
with those who go down to the pit.
In the underworld
all the trees of Eden took comfort:
Lebanon’s choicest and best,
all that were fed by the waters.(G)
17 They too will go down to Sheol,
to those slain by the sword,
Its allies[e] who dwelt
in its shade among the nations.
18 To whom among the trees of Eden
do you compare in glory and greatness?
You will be brought down
with the trees of Eden to the underworld,
And lie among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.
Such is Pharaoh and all his hordes—
oracle of the Lord God.
Chapter 32
Lament over Pharaoh. 1 On the first day of the twelfth month in the twelfth year,[f] the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, utter a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and say to him:
You liken yourself to a lion among nations,
but you are like the monster in the sea!
Thrashing about in your streams,
churning the water with your feet,
polluting the streams.(H)
3 Thus says the Lord God:
I will cast my net over you
by assembling many armies,
and I will hoist you up in my mesh.
4 I will hurl you onto the land,
cast you into an open field.
I will make all the birds of the sky
roost upon you,
The beasts of the whole earth
gorge themselves on you.
5 I will strew your flesh on the mountains,
and fill the valleys with your corpse.(I)
6 I will drench the land,
pouring out your blood on the mountain;
filling up the ravines with you.
7 When I extinguish you,
I will cover the heavens
and darken all its stars.
The sun I will cover with clouds;
the moon will not give light.(J)
8 All the shining lights in the heavens
I will darken over you;
I will spread darkness over your land—
oracle of the Lord God.
9 I will trouble the hearts
of many peoples,
When I bring you captive
among the nations,
to lands you do not know.
10 I will fill many nations with horror;
their kings will shudder at you,
when I brandish my sword in their faces.
They will tremble violently
fearing for their lives on the day of your fall.(K)
11 For thus says the Lord God:
The sword of the king of Babylon
will come against you.
12 I will cut down your hordes
with the swords of warriors,
all of them, ruthless nations;
They will lay waste the glory of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.(L)
13 I will wipe out all the livestock
from the banks of its many waters;
No human foot will disturb them again,
no animal hoof stir them up.
14 Then I will make their waters clear
and their streams flow like oil—
oracle of the Lord God.
15 When I make Egypt a wasteland
and the land destitute of everything,
When I strike down all its inhabitants
they shall know that I am the Lord.
16 This is the lamentation
women of all nations will chant;
They will raise it over Egypt;
over all its hordes they will chant it—
oracle of the Lord God.
Another Lament over Egypt. 17 [g]On the fifteenth day of that month in the twelfth year, the word of the Lord came to me:
18 Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt—
you and the women of mighty nations—
Send them down to the underworld,
with those who go down into the pit.
19 Whom do you excel in beauty? Go down!
Be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!
20 Among those slain by the sword they will fall,
for the sword has been appointed!
Seize Egypt and all its hordes.(M)
21 Out of Sheol the mighty warriors
will speak to him and his allies:
Let them descend and lie down among the uncircumcised,
those slain by the sword!(N)
22 There is Assyria and all its company,
around it are its graves,
all of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23 The graves are set
in the recesses of the pit;
Its company is assembled
around its grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
those who spread terror in the land of the living.(O)
24 There is Elam and all its horde
around its grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword;
they descended uncircumcised
into the underworld,
Those who spread their terror
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who go down into the pit.
25 Among the slain is set its bed,
with all its horde around its grave;
All of them uncircumcised,
slain by the sword
Because of the terror they spread
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who go down into the pit.
Among the slain it is set!
26 There is Meshech and Tubal[h] and all the hordes
surrounding it with their graves.
All of them uncircumcised,
slain by the sword
Because they spread their terror
in the land of the living.(P)
27 They do not rest with the warriors
who fell in ancient times,
who went down to Sheol fully armed.
Their swords were placed under their heads
and their shields laid over their bones;
For there was terror of these warriors
in the land of the living.
28 But as for you, among the uncircumcised
you will be broken and laid to rest
with those slain by the sword.
29 There is Edom, all its kings and princes,
who, despite their might,
are put with those slain by the sword.
They lie among the uncircumcised,
with those who go down into the pit.(Q)
30 There are the generals of the north
and all the Sidonians
Who have gone down with the slain,
because of the terror their might inspired.
They lie uncircumcised
with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those
who have gone down into the pit.(R)
31 When Pharaoh sees them,
he will be consoled on behalf of all his hordes,
slain by the sword—
Pharaoh and all his army—
oracle of the Lord God.
32 I spread terror of him
in the land of the living;
Now he is laid among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword—
Pharaoh and all his horde—
oracle of the Lord God.
IV. Hope for the Future
Chapter 33
The Prophet as Sentinel. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: When I bring the sword against a land, if the people of that land select one of their number as a sentinel[i] for them,(S) 3 and the sentinel sees the sword coming against the land, he should blow the trumpet to warn the people.(T) 4 If they hear the trumpet but do not take the warning and a sword attacks and kills them, their blood will be on their own heads.(U) 5 They heard the trumpet blast but ignored the warning; their blood is on them. If they had heeded the warning, they could have escaped with their lives. 6 If, however, the sentinel sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the sword attacks and takes someone’s life, his life will be taken for his own sin, but I will hold the sentinel responsible for his blood.
7 (V)You, son of man—I have appointed you as a sentinel for the house of Israel; when you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them for me. 8 When I say to the wicked, “You wicked, you must die,” and you do not speak up to warn the wicked about their ways, they shall die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. 9 If, however, you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, but they do not, then they shall die in their sins, but you shall save your life.
Individual Retribution. 10 As for you, son of man, speak to the house of Israel: You people say, “Our crimes and our sins weigh us down; we are rotting away because of them. How can we survive?”(W) 11 (X)Answer them: As I live—oracle of the Lord God—I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, house of Israel?
12 As for you, son of man, say to your people: The justice of the just will not save them on the day they sin; the wickedness of the wicked will not bring about their downfall on the day they turn from their wickedness. No, the just cannot save their lives on the day they sin.(Y) 13 Even though I say to the just that they shall surely live, if they, relying on their justice, do wrong, none of their just deeds shall be remembered; because of the wrong they have done, they shall die.(Z) 14 And though I say to the wicked that they shall die, if they turn away from sin and do what is just and right— 15 returning pledges, restoring stolen goods, walking by statutes that bring life, doing nothing wrong—they shall surely live; they shall not die.(AA) 16 None of the sins they committed shall be remembered against them. If they do what is right and just, they shall surely live.
17 Your people say, “The way of the Lord is not fair!” But it is their way that is not fair. 18 When the just turn away from justice and do wrong, they shall die for it.(AB) 19 When the wicked turn away from wickedness and do what is right and just, because of this they shall live. 20 But still you say, “The way of the Lord is not fair!” I will judge each of you according to your ways, house of Israel.
The Survivor from Jerusalem. 21 On the fifth day of the tenth month,[j] in the twelfth year of our exile, the survivor came to me from Jerusalem and said, “The city is taken!”(AC) 22 The hand of the Lord had come upon me the evening before the survivor arrived and opened my mouth when he reached me in the morning. My mouth was opened, and I was mute no longer.(AD)
Those Left in Judah.[k] 23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 Son of man, these who live among the ruins in the land of Israel are saying: “Abraham was only one person, yet he was given possession of the land. Since we are many, the land must be given to us as our possession.”(AE) 25 Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You eat on the mountains, you raise your eyes to your idols, you shed blood—yet you would keep possession of the land?(AF) 26 You rely on your swords, you commit abominations, each defiles his neighbor’s wife—yet you would keep possession of the land? 27 Say this to them: Thus says the Lord God: As I live, those among the ruins shall fall by the sword; those in the open field I have made food for the wild beasts; and those in rocky hideouts and caves shall die by the plague. 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, so that its proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will cross them. 29 Thus they shall know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they committed.
Popular Misunderstanding. 30 As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doorways of houses. They say to one another, “Let’s go hear the latest word that comes from the Lord.” 31 My people come to you, gathering as a crowd and sitting in front of you to hear your words, but they will not act on them. Love songs are on their lips, but in their hearts they pursue dishonest gain.(AG) 32 For them you are only a singer[l] of love songs, with a pleasant voice and a clever touch. They listen to your words, but they do not obey them. 33 But when it comes—and it is surely coming!—they shall know that there was a prophet among them.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.